Simona de Silvestro makes no secret of her unfinished business in Supercars. She said as much immediately after her deal with Dick Johnson Racing, which will see her make a one-off return for the Bathurst 1000, was made public.
“I think there is always unfinished business,” she said. “When I look at my three years in Supercars I developed quite well in the three years, but the car I was in, you know, wasn’t able to be where it should be.
“Getting this opportunity, coming back to Bathurst is one thing, but coming back with this team... I want to work even harder to get a good result. Unfinished business, it’s always there. You want to be winning and show what you can do when you’re in a race car.”
Racing drivers blaming a lack of performance is nothing new. Neither is lamenting that lack of opportunity to shine in the right hardware. In the case of de Silvestro’s past Supercars career, she does have an argument to mount.
De Silvestro was initially imported into Supercars in 2015, as the category eyed a better handle on a female demographic. It found a keen supporter of the idea in Katie Page, CEO of retail giant Harvey Norman. Supercars placed de Silvestro at Tickford Racing in a wildcard entry for the Bathurst 1000, paired with the relatively inexperienced Renee Gracie.
The Tickford FG-X Falcons were rapid that season, but the ‘Super Girls’ as they were known, were up against it. For starters, Bathurst is as tough a circuit as there is to try and get your head around a brand new car. And realistically, Gracie was unlikely to perform at a level needed to replicate the success of Triple Eight’s X-Box wildcard in 2013, for example. The Super Girls car finished 21st, 40 laps down, after Gracie hit the wall at Forrests Elbow.
A year later the duo returned, this time in an additional Nissan Motorsport entry. Armed with more experience they put in an admirable performance, coming home 14th and two laps down.
Source: Autosport